Rating: 
Summary: Lifelong 35 MM user finally goes digital
Review: Finally took the plunge with into the digital world. While I'm not quite ready to retire a couple thousand dollars worth of Nikon Equipment, you can bet my wife's point-and-shoot days are over. The image quality for this price is outstanding (kudo's to Amazon for blowing away the competition on price). I added a 48 MB CF memory card, enough for about 70 shots at the highest resolution. You'll want to do the same since the 8 MB included isn't nearly enough. I've tried transfers via both USB to Win 98 (cable included) or serial to Win NT (ditto). USB is obviously the way to go, but serial is tolerable. Then I use any editing software (a version of Adobe Photo Deluxe is included and not bad, but I like MS PhotoDraw 2000) to resize, color-fix, etc. You can go nuts manipulating the pictures, but odds are you won't need to. I've used the camera in bright sun, low-light and everything in between and haven't been able to fool it yet. Cool nifty feature - the self running slide show. Hook it up to your PC, or even a TV or VCR (again, cable included), and you can let the camera scroll through all the shots on your memory card. My 2 year old loves watching it, and it beats Barney, right? One tip - get an AC adapter if you plan to spend much time hooked up to your PC/MAC or TV. No sense wasting precious battery juice when you don't have to. Complaints? The flash, viewfinder, and light sensors all line up right where I want to put my fingers, so I'm re-learning how to hold a camera. Also, there's a brightness dial on the bottom of the camera for the LCD display. I always seem to slide it accidentally. The result looks like a thermo-scan of Junior and Fluffy in the back yard, but it's only the LCD. The image itself is still fine. For the price of a good 35 MM camera body, get yourself a great digital companion or primary camera. Now if we could just get Nikon to make a digital camera that takes all my old lenses for under $1,000...
Rating: 
Summary: Good value, usability problems, poor Mac interface
Review: The camera produces excellent pictures, but has some usability problems. For a two-megapixel camera, the price is excellent. The usability problems vary in seriousness. The power switch has only one resting position and hence doesn't indicate the power-up status of the camera. There is a power-saving mode, but no power-down after a period of inactivity. The lens cap is an old fashioned plastic disk that must be manually placed over the lens; even my old QuickTake 150 had an integrated power switch and lens cap. The unit also struck me as being rather heavy. The interface to Windows computers is excellent. Retrieving photos is as easy as opening a volume that automatically mounts on the computer. Particularly useful is a camera control application that makes for easy adjustment of all the camera's settings. Mac users are not so fortunate. Pictures must be retrieved with a special Picture Transfer Application with an exceptionally bad interface and inexcusably slow operation. There is no camera control application for the Macintosh. The camera has some formatting features such as borders and special effects. It also provides for video output. I haven't tested these features and can't comment on their usefulness.
Rating:
Summary: Great point and shoot pictures!
Review: After several months of research and a friend with a Kodak 265, I decided to buy the 280. I am very pleased with the overall quality of the pictures. The red eye feature does a better job then the point and shoot 35 mm I had before. Battery life is better than I had expected, I have taken over 200 pictures, and only charged the batteries once. The camera came with a charger and one set of rechargeable batteries, so there have been no extra costs. Picture quality seems great so far. I have ordered prints online from my digital pictures, and they look great, even the 5x7. The zoom is a little lacking, so if you use a zoom lens all the time, this may not be the camera for you, but Kodak does make an adaptor to go to 4x. I am very pleased with my purchase here on Amazon.com.
Rating: 
Summary: digital kodachrome
Review: Have you ever taken Kodachrome slides - the color saturation is upped a little, as is the contrast; everything is a little realer than real. And why not. Kodak has had most of a century learning how to reproduce color, and they have applied it to their new-fangled digital cameras. You will not believe what you see on the screen of your computer monitor - can a digital camera really be this good? It looks like a Kodachrome slide - heck, it looks better! Printing is another thing. The reason pro photographers and serious ameteurs have preferred slides is because the range of contrast is much greater than prints - prints can only reflect light, not generate it, as can a slide projector or computer monitor. So a great deal is lost in going to prints in terms of light; and as even your basic printer can print at 300 dpi, the lower resolution of the digital camera makes its effects felt. However, I find 8x10 prints at the highest resolution of the DC280 quite acceptable (using a HP832c). But the camera cannot make uncompressed files - all files are JPEG compressed to some extent, and the artifacts may show. This is a point and shoot camera; no control of focus, shutter speed, or aperture is possible. The camera is a little heavy, and you wish for hooks for a neck strap. You wish for more buttons on the body of the camera, rather than having to go through levels of menus. The lens front is very vulnerable (and the lens cap is not automatic) - it would be wise if the lens were protected by a protruding metal or plastic guard, as some of Kodak's competitors do. I find the battery life using Kodak's supplied metal hydride batteries quite acceptable, particularly if you buy a second set; but the supplied alkalines lasted only through the evening I bought the camera. I am a wide angle person rather than a telephoto person, but in an ideal world, a 3x rather than a 2x would be welcome - 60mm (equiv.) is hardly telephoto. This is basically a wide angle to normal lens. I've been a darkroom photographer since 1952, and a sometime professional since 1959 - I am delighted to see the end of chemical photography, with its dangerous chemicals and the near impossibility for amateurs of getting good results in color. Now all you need is a digital camera and an ink-jet printer. Prices are falling - give it a try!
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: We love it! It is simple to use, versatile, and takes fantastic pictures! Before we purchased it, we were a little bit uneasy about the comments we had read about the 'short' battery life. The camera has numerous battery saving features which can be employed when prolonging the life of the batteries is an issue. It isn't that difficult to carry an extra set of batteries just in case. The AC adapter is a must for use during downloading and viewing as a way to perserve battery life. We're just amazed at all of the things this camera can do and how easy it is to use! I'd give it 6 stars if I could!
Rating:
Summary: Great for Web images
Review: Although it sometimes feels like we're all still beta testing various digital imaging technologies, including digital cameras, products like the Kodak DC280 make me believe the "dark ages" might be coming to an end. This is a good mid-range digital camera, perfect for those who want to capture images that will look very good on the Web. The biggest plus of the camera is image quality; this is the best camera in this price range that I tested, with two-megapixel resolution. Having quite a bit of hands-on experience with various Sony cameras, I and my partner were actually stunned by how clear the DC280's images were in a variety of lighting conditions. There is very little to complain about in terms of interface and usability. I scanned the manual, and then just started using the DC280. The menu system and buttons are quite intuitive. One minor quibble is that one is pretty much forced to use the DC280's viewfinder left-eyed; otherwise the LCD screen smudge factor so common to digital camera will rear its ugly head. However, I use the LCD for the majority of my shooting, so this isn't a huge factor. The DC280 uses a USB connection to transfer images to your computer. The camera mounts as if it were a hard drive, and one can preview large thumbnails of images before copying them over to your hard drive. While I was able to open the images directly into Photoshop, Fireworks couldn't get into the camera; this may have been a problem with how I have my file associations set up, however. The camera comes with a number of features and extras. The bundled software, Adobe's PhotoDeluxe and Pagemill, are more than adequate for editing images and creating Web pages. Various simple visual effects and borders can be applied in-camera, and you can run a slide-show right out of the camera using the supplied video cable. The DC280 includes four rechargeable AA batteries, a recharger, and four AA alkaline batteries. You can get started right out of the box. My camera sucked the alkalines dry after about 50 photos and a couple of downloads; I would suggest buying an extra set of rechargeables to carry around with you, and an AC adaptor. This is not the perfect camera for all applications. For one thing, there are few manual controls on the camera for focus, aperture or shutter priority, and the optical zoom limited to 2X. This will mean that photo enthusiasts might want to look at something the next step up, such as the wacky-looking Nikon Coolpix 950. As others have reported, low-light shooting is not at the quality that one would hope for from a camera at this level. All-in-all, the DC280 is an excellent camera for the price, perfect for Web photos.
Rating:
Summary: Happy happy joy joy
Review: Within 10 minutes (thanks to the included batteries) I was taking photos. The camera's interface is clear and understandable. I suppose if you're challenged by a disposable camera, you might not get it, but if you are a normal human, you can do this. On the PC side, if you can open a file in Word/Wordperfect, you can get to your photos. With the USB interface, it was more plug-and-play (emphasis on play) that I'd expected. I expected an hour or two to learn the "how to's", but hey, this is easy. I'm a LAN manager and ex-semi pro photographer in college, so I was less than enthusiastic when my wife said we should get one. But now that we have it, I love the instant gratification that the DC 280 has. Yes, the resolution is not as good as film, but unless you're a real pro or have a need for prints larger than 8x10, who cares? I'm filling up my digital photo album so quickly that I'm gonna need a CD burner. Ok, bad stuff: your nose (if you're right eye'd like most) smudges the LCD. If you use it a lot, you'll need more batteries but so do other cameras. Hmm.. that's about it. Last words-I have no hesitation giving this camera a "buy" recommendation. Or in the words of the stock market gurus: "Market outperform".
Rating:
Summary: Excellent entry to digital photography!
Review: I bought this camera a month ago. My wife normally will behead anyone she attempts to photograph, but after a week with her family, she came back with a card full of wonderful pictures! She flipped through the manual and took of with it. Setting up the software was a breeze. (Even if you don't buy this one, get one with USB support.) The camera shows up as a device in Explorer, so you can look at the pictures instantly, only downloading the ones you want. The pictures print at 5 x 7 with crisp resolution. We were replacing a well-loved Yashica 35mm that was stolen, and thought a digital would be nice. I researched different models, picking this one based on the CNET reviews and desired features. After a month, I could not be more pleased! The one I bought was advertised on the web with a 20MB flashcard. It arrived with an 8 MB card. I phoned the vendor, they said their website was incorrect, but they sent me the 20 mb card anyway. I do recommend that you purchase a card with more capacity than the 8 MB that is now standard. A PCMCIA flashcard interface is nice if you use a notebook PC that doesn't have a USB port. An AC adapter is vital. I notice that the price is dropping almost daily, so the Bang for the Buck is improving. Based upon my experience, this camera is a definite winner.
Rating:
Summary: Great camera!
Review: Price: Getting better - I paid close to $700 Oct '99 Quality: Great! The pictures are unbelievable... and I mean that. If I print a 4"x6" on my HP 952C it is hard to tell the difference from a 35mm camera. Function: The camera could use a better design but it is still much better than some other ones I have tried. The review screen is perfectly placed where your nose hits it when you are taking a picture so I am constantly cleaning it off. In high quality mode mine holds about 30 pictures (20meg card). This is plenty for most events/photo ops. After I take 3-5 pictures I go back and review them and delete the ones that I don't like. This way, when you have 30 pictures in your card they are 30 pictures that you like. Much better that taking a whole roll of 35mm pictures and only liking 5 of them once they are developed. Overall I love the camera (and so do all my friends that try it).
Rating:
Summary: 280 is a good camera
Review: the camera is pretty good. the only thing i didnt like about it is that the real tim viewing on the lcd screen is real slow and kinda pixly. but hey its not suppose to be a movie camera right. the pics i took are very good. i almost wish that they were so crisp. it looks so much like real life in the pics it doesent even look like a pic. witch i guess i good. overall i think this camera is pretty desent. for the price on it now you cant go wrong. oh lordy though do you need memory. ... anyway this camera was great and i really like that it comes with rechargable batteries and a charger. it is even easier to get picturs of of it than a...100 doller camera i had before.
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